Glenn Micallef can expect tough grilling if retained as Malta’s commissioner-designate

Glenn Micallef can expect a tough grilling at the hands of MEPs if the Prime Minister digs his heels and retains him as Malta’s European Commissioner-designate. 

The 35-year-old former head of secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister lacks executive experience despite his knowledge of European affairs. 

Robert Abela is under pressure from Ursula von der Leyen to replace Micallef with someone who has more experience, and preferably a woman. 

The European Commission president-designate is expected to present her team of 26 commissioners and their assigned portfolios to the Conference of Presidents in the European Parliament on 11 September. This gives her less than two weeks to try and convince some of the member states to change their pick, especially given the gender imbalance created by a male-dominated team. 

Micallef is one of the picks Von der Leyen is hoping will be replaced given that he has never held political office. 

However, if Abela decides to stick by his man, it could be hard for MEPs to see beyond Micallef’s inexperience during grillings expected to take place at the end of September. 

All commissioner-designates will be subjected to parliamentary hearings during which they will be asked about their prospective portfolio, their beliefs and anything else MEPs deem necessary. The parliament cannot block individual candidates because it votes on the whole team, which means any objections will have to be ironed out before a vote takes place. There have been multiple instances in the past when commissioner-designates had to be replaced to ensure the formation of a new Commission is not blocked. 

Sources in Brussels suggest that Von der Leyen may allow parliament to do the hatchet job for her, something MEPs would relish, if she is unable to convince some member states to change their nominations. 

But Malta’s weak pick may also weigh down on the portfolio Micallef could be handed. It is an open secret that Malta is gunning for the new Commission portfolio focussing on the Mediterranean, something that also interests Cyprus. 

It is unclear yet what this portfolio will entail and it could be overshadowed by the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and the migration commissioner. But with Micallef in the spotlight over his inexperience Malta has a weak hand to play. 

The choice of portfolios is entirely the remit of Von der Leyen but member states will be pushing their own agendas in a bid to influence her choices. Romania is likely to change its first-choice nominee, a man, with a woman in a bid to negotiate for a more influential portfolio. 

Micallef was the Prime Minister’s second choice after former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne withdrew his nomination when criminal charges were filed against him over the Vitals hospitals case last June. 

Micallef, who graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Malta, worked at the foreign affairs ministry, where he was head of the EU Coordination Department and the Brexit Unit. In January 2020, he was appointed European affairs advisor to the Prime Minister, acting as his ‘sherpa’ in Brussels. 

In November 2020, Micallef was appointed head of secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister, a post he held until June 2024 when he resigned. 

He was named Malta’s nominee for European Commissioner in July, becoming the first Maltese non-minister to be nominated for the role.